Governor Corbett Thanks PASBO for Support of Pension Reform

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Corbett today thanked the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) for recently announcing its support of the administration's proposal to restructure future pension benefits for public school employees.

"PASBO recognizes the urgency to take swift action to avert further economic harm to our schools, taxpayers and the state's economy," Corbett said. "Without substantive changes to future pension benefits of current and prospective employees, Pennsylvania taxpayers will continue to bear the burden of ever-increasing pension costs."

In a press release issued earlier this week, PASBO announced that it voted to support a significant change in state pension laws to reduce the spiraling costs to school districts and other school entities. According to PASBO, school pension costs will continue to increase dramatically resulting in more program and personnel cuts in future budgets as well as draining reserves at unsustainable rates.

Without reform, pension costs will consume about 60 percent of all new revenues in the 2013-14 fiscal year. That translates to more than $500 million that could be spent on core programs and services.

Corbett noted that the pension reform plan includes no changes to benefits for retirees and no changes to benefits accrued by current employees through the effective date of the plan.

Under the proposal, public school entities would realize savings of more than $1 billion over five years, nearly $140 million in 2013-14 alone.

"It's critical for the General Assembly to enact pension reform to address the state's pension systems in order to protect taxpayers, now and well into the future," Corbett said.